First-Class Delivery
by MetallicGirl
Summary: Starscream's two-year-old twins finally get to meet their baby sister. Family ties are only strengthened. :) Rated T for slightly graphic birth.


_If I hear_ ' _Good Job_ ' _from him one more time_ …

"Good job, Starscream!" Skyfire said happily. "Keep pushing!"

 _Slaggit_.

Starscream was starting to regret allowing Skyfire to attend the birth of his third sparkling—well, actually, he had been regretting it for a long time. Sure, his spark was in the right place as always, but he was actually more of a distraction than anything else. The title of 'doula' fit _Megatron_ better than it fit Skyfire, and that was saying something.

Megatron, currently, was sitting on the bed right behind Starscream, who was sitting there too with his hips lifted slightly, legs spread, right in the middle of pushing the sparkling out. Starscream had learned from his previous births that it was much easier if you were upright in some respect while pushing a sparkling out. Thundercracker was holding his hand; Skywarp was waiting, with Skyfire, for the sparkling to crown, which she hadn't yet. Oh well…he'd only been pushing for like ten minutes…

To Starscream's relief, _this_ labor had only lasted five hours, as opposed to the torturous eleven he had suffered through last time. No vomit this time, either. It was actually pretty amazing.

Thundercracker winced as Starscream held his hand a little bit tighter. Okay, this time he didn't need Skyfire and Skywarp to tell him that his daughter was crowning. Starscream had forgotten how hard the crowning could be.

"Come on, Starscream, you've done this twice before," said Megatron. "You can do it again."

"That—that doesn't mean it's easy!" Starscream snapped at him, just before plunging himself with a loud grunt into his next push.

"Oh, Primus, I can see her now!" Skyfire cried. "Push, Starscream, push!"

"Shut up!" said Starscream; he didn't need anyone to tell him to push! What did they _think_ he was doing? Nobody else here had ever given birth and it was really super annoying that nobody understood what he was going through! Starscream never thought he would wish so much that Gemstone was in the room with him; _she_ had given birth before, to her bio-daughter Stardust, who Skywarp had adopted.

Gemstone wanted to come, but she had to babysit Stardust. Speedwing (Starscream and Skyfire's old Seeker friend from the university) was babysitting the twins at the Ark where she stayed with Skyfire, but they figured Stardust, only one year old, would be too scared to go to the Ark with a bunch of Autobots she didn't know. Stars and Megs were used to the Ark, but Gemstone decided she would take care of Stardust and once the new sparkling was born, she would head to the med bay with everybody else.

Skywarp, being a couple months pregnant himself, felt that it was important to watch closely and learn whatever he could. Starscream wasn't paying attention to Skywarp, but Skywarp wanted to get some tips from a veteran mom, even if the big day _was_ months away. Years ago, a few days before the twins were born, Skywarp had tried to help Starscream "practice" pushing—it had resulted in false labor, a severe panic attack for Starscream, and a scolding from their then-medic, Moonbeam. It was important to be a little more careful this time around. Skywarp had since broken up with Moonbeam, but they still followed her midwifery advice.

In fact, there were a lot of things she'd said. Starscream remembered what Moonbeam told him about breathing, that is, the significance of doing it properly, and the importance of doing what feels right for your body. But most of all, she told him that "birthing takes concentration"—as in, just tune out all the idiots around you. The sparkling was all he needed to focus on.

 _Yes_ … _of course I_ ' _m going to make it_. This was another thing Starscream didn't need to be told. The laboring Seeker took a deep breath, letting his pushes fall into his body's natural rhythm. The burning increased, but Starscream stayed calm, picturing the sparkling's head between his legs. At the peak of his next contraction Starscream bore down and pushed again, still grunting with the effort, and her head was completely out.

It was time for the rest of her body. Starscream had no problem with this, as it felt like someone was pulling her out of him anyway, so strong was his need to push. No, it didn't feel like he was being ripped in half. It was smooth; this time his sparkling's birth felt like the miracle it was. Just two more big pushes and with a rush of birth fluids, Starscream's daughter slipped out into Skyfire's hands.

"Congratulations, Starscream!" Skyfire cried, bursting into tears as the sparkling's cries filled the room. Skywarp awkwardly patted him on the arm, but soon began to sob himself.

"Please, can I see my sparkling?" Starscream breathed, reaching his arms out.

"Oh slag," said Skywarp, wiping his eyes. "I forgot the blanket I was supposed to wrap her up in."

"Here, just take this towel," said Thundercracker, handing one of their clean towels to Skywarp, who swaddled the sparkling in it.

"Meet your new little femme," Skywarp said gently, placing her in Starscream's arms.

The sparkling looked a lot like Megatron. She was a deep blue color all over, the color of the ocean. Only her hands were a different color (black). Starscream rocked her in his arms, holding her close to his spark, rubbing her back, giving her kisses. This was the first time Starscream held her, and he wanted it to be special for them both.

"I love you," Starscream whispered to her.

"Maybe we should call Speedwing now?" Skyfire suggested. "I'm sure Stars and Megs are just itching to meet their sister."

Soon after Starscream had gone into labor, Skyfire and Speedwing had flown to Decepticon HQ as quickly as their wings could carry them. Speedwing told Stars and Megs that their sister was coming today, and that they could go play until she arrived. They had been so excited and demanded to see their parents, but Speedwing had managed to divert them. This time, their short attention spans had come in handy—Speedwing simply had to offer them some toys and energon goodies, and they were sold. Being a grade-school science teacher, she had experience with younglings and the way they behaved.

"Oh, of course," said Starscream. "Hurry, Skyfire, call her up. Gemstone, too."

"I have a better idea," Skywarp piped up. "Why don't I teleport you to the Ark? Then we can bring them back almost instantly. When we get back, we can fetch Gemstone. She's still here, waiting in the nursery."

"That's a wonderful idea, Skywarp!" Skyfire linked his arm with Skywarp's, and they disappeared.

Thundercracker smiled and turned to leave. "Why don't I give you some alone time?"

"We would appreciate that, Thundercracker," said Megatron. As soon as the blue Seeker was gone, Starscream was shocked as Megatron grabbed him and kissed him, full on the lips.

"M-Megatron!" Starscream gasped.

"You're amazing, sweet-spark," Megatron told him. "Three perfect sparklings, all in a row."

"Oh, c'mon, stop." Starscream felt his cheeks getting hot as he smiled shyly.

"I'm serious," said Megatron. "I mean…I know you're usually a huge coward…but it does take strength to do that."

"Do I sense some reluctant respect?" Starscream smirked.

"Never," said Megatron, gently drawing Starscream into a hug. "Besides…that sparkling looks just like her grandmother. That is, my mother."

"She—she does?" Starscream was surprised.

"Just the spitting image," Megatron said softly, stroking the sparkling's head with his finger. "She was a strong femme."

"What do you mean?" asked Starscream.

"When I was young, still in Kaon Elementary, my father was killed in a street fight," Megatron explained. "My mother had to do everything herself from then on. She worked three jobs, could hardly pay the rent, but she supported me all the same, somehow managed to put one foot in front of the other, every day."

"Maybe we could call her to come meet her granddaughter," Starscream offered.

"That is not possible." Megatron shook his head. "The working conditions in Kaon were very bad. She was one of many to catch a deadly virus that spread like wildfire throughout the plant…and I'm afraid that was the one battle she lost. I had to support myself after that—I dropped out of school and started working in the mines. I claimed to be older than I was, but they didn't care about the age restrictions anyway as long as I did the work."

"What was your mother's name?" Starscream asked.

"Her name was Sapphire…why?"

"Sapphire it is, then." Starscream smiled down at his sparkling, and then back up at Megatron.

"Thank you, Starscream, my mother would be honored," said Megatron, pulling Starscream closer and kissing him on the head. "May I…may I hold her?"

"Of course you can." Starscream gently handed Sapphire over. "She's your daughter too."

Megatron took Sapphire into his arms. She reached out one of her tiny black hands and wrapped it around his thumb.

"Tight grip," said Megatron, but he didn't look annoyed. Starscream was watching. Maybe it was the sight of Megatron holding his newborn daughter gently, smiling lovingly down at her as she gripped his thumb, or maybe it was just some hormones left over from the pregnancy, but that was when Starscream started to cry.

"I-I'm sorry," Starscream was laughing through his tears as Megatron held Sapphire in one arm and used the other arm to give his sweet-spark another hug. "So sorry!"

"There's nothing to be sorry for." Megatron was laughing too. Starscream reached his arms out for Sapphire again, and Megatron handed her back; as Starscream held her in both arms, Megatron kissed him again.

They spent a moment together, kissing and hugging, laughing and crying, snuggling their precious newborn. Not long after, Skywarp teleported back into the med bay with Skyfire and Speedwing, who had Stars and Megs in tow.

"Baby!" Stars shrieked as soon as he saw Starscream holding his new sister, flying over to where his family was perched on the bed. Megs squirmed out of Speedwing's arms and followed him, also via flight. Both twins jostled each other, wanting to be the first to wrap their little arms around Sapphire.

"Is it her?" Megs asked, looking up at Starscream.

"Yes, this is your sister," said Starscream, snuggling his little ones close. "Her name is Sapphire. What do you think of her?"

"So…so small," Stars observed, reaching out and grabbing Sapphire's hand.

"She is," Starscream agreed. "But I'm sure she'll grow big and strong, just like you two did."

"Why are we in the ouchie room?" Megs asked, looking around, apparently noticing for the first time that they were in the med bay. "Are you hurt, Mommy?"

"Of course not, honey," Starscream told the concerned toddler. "Just tired."

"Not everything that happens in here is bad," Megatron explained. "When your sister was ready, she just told Mommy, and then we helped her come out."

"Why don't you introduce yourselves?" Starscream suggested.

"My name is Stars, and this is my brother Megs," Stars told his sister happily. "You're..you're Sapphire. Right?"

Sapphire yawned and snuggled closer to Starscream's spark.

"She says hello," Starscream told his twins, smiling. Stars crawled over to Sapphire and gave her a hug; Megs followed suit.

"How were they?" Megatron asked Speedwing, watching the three younglings playing.

"They were no trouble at all," Speedwing replied warmly.

"That's hard to believe," said Starscream. "But then again, they did like Skyfire's class, and you're a certified sparkling teacher."

"Yes, my spark beats for all sparklings," Speedwing told him. "I'm glad I chose that line of work."

"And soon we'll have our _own_ sparklings!" Skyfire cried out gleefully, and Speedwing kissed his lips. Starscream rolled his eyes.

"You know, Skyfire had a huge crush on you all throughout school, Speedwing." Starscream smirked. "I mean, he was _obsessed_ with you."

"Oh, no he wasn't." Speedwing giggled and blushed, adjusting her red glasses. Skyfire's blue eyes were filled with true love, though. Starscream thought the two were simply meant for each other.

Soon enough, the door opened, and in walked Thundercracker and Gemstone, with Stardust hovering behind them.

"Stardust!" Skywarp cried, snatching his daughter out of the air and squeezing her tight. "Oh, I missed you so much!"

"Daddy!" Stardust squealed, smiling up at him. Skywarp was sobbing all over again, snuggling his little princess. Knowing his brother was a big fan of attachment parenting, Starscream knew Skywarp was glad to be reunited with his daughter.

Sapphire reached out and grabbed a handful of Starscream's bathrobe in her tiny fist, apparently liking the feel of the soft fabric on her hand. For the twins, Starscream had been wearing your standard scratchy pink hospital gown, but this time Sapphire had been coming quickly and since he wasn't wearing his armor underneath anyway, Skyfire and Megatron had just rushed him to the med bay the way he was and he'd given birth in his bathrobe. By now it was soaked through with the coolant he'd released during labor and birth, but it would be fine after it came out of the wash.

"What an adorable sparkling," said Gemstone, approaching Megatron, Starscream and their family. "What did you name her?"

"Her name's Sapphire, after her grandmother," Starscream explained. "Would you like to hold her?"

"I'd love to," Gemstone replied, taking Sapphire into her arms. "Welcome to our world, little Sapphire. I'm your Aunt Gemstone. I'll always be here to play with you."

Sapphire opened her big red eyes for a minute and smiled up at Gemstone, then closed them again. Gemstone smiled back at her niece, then set her back on Starscream's chest, along with the twins. Having the new sparkling placed upon him again gave Starscream another power boost—whenever a newborn sparkling had contact with its carrier, it provided a power boost for both parties. Nobody could explain it, but Starscream felt another rush of energy and love course through his tubes as all three of his sparklings snuggled into him, listening closely to the steady, comforting beat of his spark.

-the end-


End file.
